It is known that in the pharmaceutical sector and similar sectors such as foodstuffs and para-pharmaceutical products it is often provided to lyophilize the products in order to improve their preservation and life.
It is also known that in a lyophilization chamber, no dust must be created, there must be no sources delivering magnetic forces and everything must be simplified, with no emissions of vapors or disallowed substances. All this to facilitate cleaning and at the same time to prevent contaminants from coming into contact with the product to be lyophilized or already lyophilized.
It is also known to provide that there is normally a plurality of planes in a lyophilization chamber which are loaded on each occasion with containers of the products to be lyophilized, which are then unloaded when the lyophilization cycle is terminated.
It is also known that the loading and unloading operation takes place by means of various systems, in this case loading and/or unloading using sliders of various types, shape and composition.
The sliders can have on board the means to move them and possibly means to feed the movement means, and also possible command and control means, autonomous or remote controlled.
The power needed to feed the movement means of the sliders, and the loading-unloading arm if present, is currently supplied either by mechanical cables or electric cables, or by energy accumulation means on board; the accumulation means can accumulate electric, fluid or mechanical energy. These power feed means all generate dust or fumes or toxic gases, or magnetic forces, even intense, all of which is contraindicated in the various pharmaceutical formulas that are then subjected to lyophilization. Furthermore, the power feed means are bulky, costly and create problems in cleaning and maintenance and also, on certain occasions, the danger of explosions.
In the case of energy accumulation means on board, whether they are electrical, fluid or mechanical accumulators, there is the problem of recharging them, which complicates the system, increases production and management costs, requires a storehouse for spare parts and creates problems in producing the whole system.
With regard to the command and control system, this can be interfaced with a central unit or other specific unit, by means of cables or without cables, for example by means of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, radio waves in general or other systems. These dialog means create disturbances that certain substances, in particular but not only pharmaceutical, should not have to support.
Document US-A-2012/0186947 describes a device for loading/unloading vertically mobile loading planes of a drying chamber of a lyophilization machine. The device provides a slider that is mobile during the loading/unloading operations, which forms a mobile guide edge for the containers to be treated, and longitudinal guides that define lateral fixed guides for the containers to be treated, provided on each of the loading planes and hence mobile therewith. The slider is driven by two linear motors provided with respective primary parts, which are connected fixed to both sides of the mobile slider, and hence mobile therewith, and are supported by the longitudinal guides, which in turn receive secondary parts of the linear motors. The supply of electrical power of the two linear motors occurs by means of a feed line or a group of feed lines connected to the two primary parts mobile with the slider. Consequently, the feed system described in US-A-2012/0186947 can be bulky and complex, since it provides that the feed means, that is, the primary parts of the linear motors, which drive the slider are mobile therewith and connected to feed lines which consequently are also mobile. The presence of energy feed parts that are mobile with the slider, in particular during the loading/unloading steps, is not desired in the lyophilization machines under discussion here.
One purpose of the present invention is to obtain an energy feed system that simplifies the movements of the sliders inside the lyophilization chamber, facilitates maintenance and cleaning operations, at the same time keeping costs low, both production, maintenance and management costs.
Another purpose is to supply, inside the lyophilization chamber, at least the energy needed to make at least the slider function for a determinate period of time.
Another purpose of the present invention is to obtain an interface with command and/or control systems outside the lyophilization chamber, which reduces interference and disturbances for the substances subjected to lyophilization.
The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.